


And They Claimed You Couldn't Explain the Concept of Being Transgender With Pokemon Involved In the Explanation

by puffinmuffin13



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Coming Out, Gen, Trans Character, Trans Female Character, Trans Saihara Shuichi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:40:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26053585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/puffinmuffin13/pseuds/puffinmuffin13
Summary: "Tenko? Do you know what transgender means?"+++With how little Tenko knows about gender, Shuichi wouldn't be surprised if coming out goes south. But perhaps everything will turn out alright after a little explanation?
Relationships: Chabashira Tenko & Saihara Shuichi
Comments: 10
Kudos: 150





	And They Claimed You Couldn't Explain the Concept of Being Transgender With Pokemon Involved In the Explanation

"Hyaa! Put your back into it, Shuichi! I know a degenerate male like you is weaker than a bag of peanuts, but Tenko needs you to try!"

"I am! I am..."

Shuichi panted as she tried to copy Tenko's punches, aware her form was wrong but not sure how to fix it. Tenko watched with a scowl as Shuichi swung; Shuichi grunted as she hit the bag again, a bad feeling settling in her stomach as she became more and more aware of just how carefully Tenko was watching her. She knew why, of course – Tenko still thought Shuichi was a guy, and Tenko hated any guy she laid her eyes on. Honestly, it was incredible that she was training her at all with her hatred, but she made up for the unusual occurrence by insulting Shuichi often and reminding her of how people saw her over and over.

Again, Shuichi understood why. But... It still hurt.

"Stand up straighter!" Tenko snapped, and Shuichi jumped, quickly doing as she said and standing up as straight as she could. Though that didn't seem to be what Tenko meant, because she sighed before she'd even punched once more. "Tenko said straighter, not completely straight!"

"Sorry!" Shuichi apologized, relaxing slightly and trying once again. A few hits to the bag later, and Tenko was suddenly a blur by her side, giving the bag a single punch that rocked it much further than any of Shuichi's efforts had.

Shuichi froze in her movements, staring at the swaying bag. "Woah."

"Hm!" Tenko grinned, rubbing her knuckles and nodding at Shuichi. "That's how you do it! Do you get it now?"

"Er... No." Tenko had been moving too fast for Shuichi to catch any of what she did, and she didn't even tell Shuichi that she was supposed to pay attention, either.

Tenko groaned, slumping for half a second before giving her head a shake and standing tall with an annoyed expression on her face. "Come on, Shuichi! How do you ever expect to become less of a degenerate male if you don't pay attention to what someone is teaching you?"

 _"Male."_ Shuichi couldn't help but shudder at that word, and Tenko noticed, grimacing at her. "What is it?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Ah –!" Shuichi froze again, paralyzed by the sudden question. Her heart raced as she realized she'd outwardly reacted to the unintentional misgendering, eyes darting anywhere but Tenko's face as she tried to think of what to say. "It – it's – it's nothing?" she said, but it came out like a question. The air suddenly felt heavy, and the pressure; the knowing that she could come out right at that moment, because there was no other topic in the way and she had just been given a possible opening to start the conversation – it felt like poisonous lead sinking in her chest. This was too much, too sudden!

Tenko huffed, obviously disbelieving her. "That's one of your worst lies yet!" she accused, and okay, that was true. Shuichi winced anyway as she continued, "If you're thinking of doing anything wrong right now, Tenko will throw you!"

"I-I know! Just –" Shuichi stopped herself after her initial reaction, clutching her workout outfit above her heart and shifting uncomfortably. "Just... Just give me a moment, please," she said quietly.

"Are you asking for a break?" Tenko asked with disdain, but when Shuichi shook her head, she sighed. "Okay, fine. Tenko will get the mats out to spar while you stand here and be useless."

That comment stung, mostly because Shuichi knew Tenko only said it because she didn't know Shuichi was a girl. As Tenko walked off and Shuichi took a few deep breaths, her momentary panic faded into worry about what Tenko would say if she told her. Shuichi already knew Tenko didn't have a strong understanding on gender versus sex; would Tenko think she was lying or being some kind of pervert if Shuichi told her?! Shuichi really hoped not, but her heart raced all the same.

She... She wanted to tell her. Right now, while she still had a scrap of confidence and a way to start the conversation. Tenko started training with her and asked if she was okay because she was concerned about Shuichi, right? If Shuichi somehow became friends with Tenko despite being thought of as a boy, then surely... Hopefully...

Shuichi took a deep breath, and then a second one for good luck. Striding over to where Tenko was doing some light stretches by the floor mats, Shuichi went over what she'd say in her mind and prayed to whatever god of the week Korekiyo was focusing on that this would all go okay.

"Tenko?" Shuichi started, her voice wavering and weak. She grimaced, embarrassed with herself, but Tenko looked up and Shuichi's expression turned serious. She asked, trying to at least _appear_ calm, "Do you know what transgender means?"

"Uh..." Tenko paused, staring at Shuichi with an expression like she wasn't actually looking at her, but rather thinking hard for an answer. "Tenko... Doesn't think so?"

Okay. Okay, Shuichi expected that. Fidgeting, Shuichi smoothed out her shirt out of nervous habit and explained, "It's when, when someone's born, people think they're one gender, but when they grow up they realize they don't fit it and are actually something else."

"Eh? Like Pokemon?" Tenko said, and Shuichi stopped because that was _not_ what she was expecting her to say, but okay, maybe she could roll with a Pokemon metaphor. 

"S-sort of? Like, uh..." Shuichi bit her lip trying to think of a Pokemon to use to explain it, before deciding it would probably just be best to relate what being transgender was to Pokemon instead of making up some analogy on the spot that would probably just be confusing. "Like, if there's a Pikachu people think is a guy because of the way his tail looks, but later she realizes she's a girl, and that her body doesn't match up with her gender." Shuichi looked down at her feet, hoping that explanation was okay enough.

Although she couldn't see her, Shuichi could picture Tenko tapping her fingers together as she hummed in thought, processing what Shuichi said. "The Pikachu's tail...? Oh, you mean how male and female Pikachu have different tails?"

"Y-yeah."

"So like... A guy Pikachu..." she trailed off, muttering something about tails and gender. Shuichi glanced up at her to see her gesturing to herself as she talked, too quiet to be fully understood but seemingly confused about something. Not wanting to butt in because she didn't know exactly what it was Tenko didn't get, Shuichi just waited for a response.

After a few moments, Tenko looked up, confusion clear in her gaze. "So a boy Pikachu found out she was a girl, but her tail looked like a boy's?"

"Yeah, basically," Shuichi said, hope that Tenko was starting to understand trickling into her voice. "Cause, you know, the knowledge of her being a girl would be in her brain, not her body."

All at once, Tenko lit up, like she'd mastered a new aikido move. "Like confidence and how just because someone looks like they're super intimidating, they're actually a scaredy-cat but no one knows!"

Shuichi smiled. "Yes, just like that!"

Tenko grinned back triumphantly. "So transgender means that people think you're one gender because of how you look, but you're really something else!"

"Er –" Shuichi didn't want her to get the wrong impression – plenty of trans people passed, and a cis girl mistaken for a boy wasn't automatically trans, after all – so she tried to explain it carefully. "Almost? It's more like they think you're one gender because said you were that gender when you were born, although a lot of it has to do with being mistaken for the wrong gender, yeah."

Tenko nodded, seemingly digesting this information, when she stopped and frowned. Giving Shuichi a look, she asked slowly, "Why are you telling Tenko about this? Does it have to do with how Shuichi looked earlier when Tenko called you a degenerate male?"

... Damn. Shuichi forgot for a moment there how well Tenko knew emotions. Nodding anxiously, Shuichi felt like she could feel every ounce of the world's gravity pressing on her at that moment. It took her a few seconds of silence before she was able to clear her throat.

"I'm trans."

Tenko stared at her.

"... What?"

"Uh," Shuichi said, blinking at Tenko in confusion. "You don't –" she began, before realizing that Tenko likely didn't fully grasp what it was Shuichi was saying, due to how she'd only just now learned what transgender meant. Shifting awkwardly and with her fingers twitching, Shuichi explained, "People think I'm a boy because the doctor said I was one when I was born, but I'm a girl."

"You're a girl?!" Tenko exclaimed, and Shuichi flinched. Tenko practically flew over to her, grabbing Shuichi's wrists and gaping at her with wide eyes. "You mean to tell Tenko that she mistook a girl for a guy all this time?!"

Shuichi had honestly no idea what to say. "Ehweh?" came out of her, her braincells not functioning after Tenko's sudden movement. "I – I, uh – I'm a girl?" she repeated, her words once again coming out like a question when she didn't mean for them to.

Tenko stared at Shuichi for a few seconds, and this close to her, Shuichi could make out little things about her face, like how the star on her headband had a little dent, or how it looked like she wore lip gloss. Tenko lunged and enveloped Shuichi in a sudden hug that made her stumble, but when Shuichi had regained her balance and could register what Tenko was saying, she realized that it was a promise to protect her just like she did all the other girls at Hope's Peak.

"– and if any degenerate males put their hands on you Tenko will not hesitate to punch them –"

Shuichi blinked, before a grin grew on their face and she happily returned Tenko's hug. The pressure from before transformed into a light feeling that only increased every time Tenko referred to her as a girl, and when Tenko squeezed her tight and told Shuichi to correct her immediately if she ever messed up in how she referred to her, Shuichi could only give a loud "Mhm!" and buried her face into Tenko's shoulder.

Never again would Shuichi have to be called a degenerate male, and being held by someone who accepted her fully and wholly, Shuichi could feel herself start to cry from joy.

When she let go, Tenko would probably make her continue the training that Shuichi really wasn't the best physical fit for, but for now, this hug was all she needed.

**Author's Note:**

> Fun fact: this was all inspired by an out of context anthology panel I saw on Tumblr. I really like the idea of Tenko learning about what transgender is and growing her understanding of gender, as it's clear in canon she has a rather rigid view of it. I'll probably re-use this concept in a later fic, but for now, accept the Shuichi of this fic who just wants to be accepted and loved, and supportive friend Tenko.


End file.
